The Chosen One a novel By Carol Lynch Williams

1.  Bibliography
Williams, Carol Lynch.  (2009).  THE CHOSEN ONE A NOVEL.  New York:  ST Martin's Griffin.  ISBN 9780312555115


2.  Plot Summary
Kyra is thirteen years old and lives in a compound as part of a polygamist cult.  Her father has three wives and as 22 children with two of his wives expecting.  Kyra starts to question the society and rules she was brought up in.  " But life is changing for me.  I'm learning new things" (6).  She secretly meets the Ironton County Mobile Library on Wheels to check out books and also is meeting a young man named Joshua who she is falling in love with.  "Finding the library was an accident" (13).  "The first time I noticed Joshua Johnson was seven months ago at school (Did the book make me notice?  Did my disobedience make me see him?) when I was coming out of quilting bee and headed for home" (27).  Her family does not know about any of her secrets, they would be sins.  The Chosen one comes to meet with her family and declares that Kyra will marry her uncle that is sixty years old.  It is the wishes of god.  Kyra must make choices that will change her life forever.


3.  Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place outside of a small town in the desert within the confines of a compound.  The plot of the story is the choices that Kyra will make.  "There's not a mother or child in my family that doesn't honor the Prophet" (5).  Will she marry or uncle or try to escape the life she as been brought up in?  The problem in the story is different.  There are not going to be many readers that will be able to relate to it.  The book gives the reader a glimpse of what life would be like if they were raised different.  This provides appeal for readers to want to read about a subject foreign to them.  Cults are secrets and this story lets us see what it would be like to be part of one.  "In a light bright as the sun the revelation came, Prophet Child says" (25).  The author uses the style of the main character telling the story from her point of view.  "I think I have lost the ability to breathe" (24).  It is important that it is told this way, so that the reader can understand what she is going through.  "Only one things make me feel like I can make it.  It's books" (175).  The focus of the story is on her, not the other characters in the book.  They only play minor parts.  When the story concludes the reader is left thinking do these problems really happen?  What will Kyra do with her life?  Will she be able to break away from this old lifestyle?  "They can't make me marry him, I say" (171). 
I would to remark that I did not like the way the story ended.  I wanted to know more of what happened to Kyra once she made her choice.  I felt that the story left the reader wanting more.

4.  Review Excerpts
School Library Journal:  "Kyra's loving father is powerless to help her and counsels her to accept her fate, but she cannot. The story ends in a high-speed chase with the Prophet's goons gunning for her as she improbably races toward freedom in the blood-spattered book mobile. Has the friendly driver been killed on her account? Is anyone looking for him? What retribution will be taken on her family and what kind of a life lies ahead for her? These unsettling questions are not addressed, but these omissions do not diminish the relief of her successful escape."
Booklist:  "Contrivances notwithstanding, this is a heart pounder, and readers will be held, especially as the danger escalates. Williams’ portrayals of the family are sharp, but what’s most interesting about this book is how the yearnings and fears of a character so far from what most YAs know will still seem familiar and close. Grades 7-10."

5.  Connections
This is a good book for young adults looking for information about what it would be like to raised in a cult.
Other about being raised in a polygamy cult:
Greene, Michele Dominez.  KEEP SWEET.  ISBN 9781442409774
Hrdlitschka, Shelley.  SISTER WIFE.  ISBN 9781551439273

 




 

Harmless By Dana Reinhardt

 

1.  Bibliography

Reinhardt, Dana.  2007.  HARMLESS.  New York:  Wendy Lamb Books.  ISBN 97803857469991

2.  Plot Summary

Emma, Anna, and Mariah are three best friends.  They are freshman at a prestigious private school.  Mariah as a boyfriend that her family does not know about who goes to public school and is older.  One night the three girls decide to go and party with Mariah's boyfriend and his friends.  They tell their parents that they are staying at each others houses.  But that night the mothers find out the their daughters are not where they were supposed to be.  The best friends decide to make up a tale to tell their parents so they will not be in trouble.  This little fib will change their lives forever.

2.  Critical Analysis

The setting of the story takes place in a normal middle and upper class town.  The setting is common that makes it believable that what takes place in the story could happen in any normal town.  "I knew Mariah was hanging out with a guy from the local high school.  Everyone knew.  That's what it's like when you go to a school as small as ours" (1).  The problem is believable in the story.  Any teenager could tell their parent a lie and it could escalate into a major issue.   "This is what I know about the truth:  the farther you get away from it, or it gets away from you, the harder it is to tell " (1).  The characters in the story are believable.  The three girls are all very different personalities and backgrounds.  Emma, "I've tried to shake my tomboy image, including wearing eyeliner and shaving my legs, even though my mom says I'm too young to do these things"  Mariah, "Some people probably thought I was stuck up because I lived in a huge house with a swimming pool" (12).  Anna, "Emma she has always been my best friend, but when we were together all the time, just the two of us, we were kind of invisible (13).  Has the story progresses the characters grown and change in negative and positive ways has the story influences them.  The reader can identify with the characters problems and understand what they are feeling.  The author uses the style of writing each chapter of the book from one of the three characters perspectives.  This way the reader is able to understand exactly what each girl is thinking and feeling during any moment of the book.  The story flows and changes with each chapter changing from one character to the next.  Anna, "Tobey Endo said "Hey!" to me as I passed him in the hallway.  Tobey never says anything to me" (90).  Emma, "And anyway, you don't really know me, so how can you say if I'm fine or not?" (128).  The theme of the book is tell the truth.  The conclusion of the book leaves the reader thinking how everything could have been different if they only would have told the truth.  Anna, "I've said it before, but I wish I'd just told the truth" (212).  The author created a wonderful novel with a universal appeal.  Who hasn't told a tale to their parents to go to a party? 

4.  Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: "Unpredictability and suspense will keep readers turning the pages and questioning their own sensibilities. They will appreciate how well the characters are developed, and how seemingly simple lies can have far-reaching and devastating consequences."
Booklist:  "What price a lie? This is the all-important question when Anna, Emma, and Mariah spend the night with Mariah's boyfriend and his friends, and are caught by their parents. Terrified that they will be grounded, they concoct a story of a foiled rape, clueless that their parents will pursue the case by contacting police and that the school and university communities will hold them up as role models. When a vagrant is arrested for the crime, their lies come full circle. Reinhardt's thought-provoking story avoids preachiness in part because of the girls' strong, complex characterizations."

5.  Connections
This is a great book for a girls book club.
Other books about Lies:
Efaw, Amy.  AFTER.  ISBN 0142415901
Summers, Courtney.  CRACKED UP TO BE.  ISBN 9780312383695
Summers, Courtney.  SOME GIRLS ARE.  ISBN 0312573804 

Twisted By Laurie Halse Anderson

1.  Bibliography
Anderson, Laurie Halse.  (2007).  TWISTED.  New York:  Speak.  ISBN 9780142411841


2.  Plot Summary
Tyler has always been a good student until the summer before his senior year he decides to spray paint the school.  Of course he is caught and arrested.  Tyler ends up working with the custodial staff of the school and being assigned a probation officer.  "Mandatory community service the judge said (1).  "Girls would look straight at me and never see the writhing masculine beast hidden inside my hundred thirty-five pounds of veal-white-man-flesh. So at the end of my junior year, I decide to do something bold" (9).  Now everyone is noticing him, even his crush. "Bethany was the Alpha Female of George Washington High-the most beautiful, the most popular, the queen bee.  She was also the daughter of my dad's boss, and the sister of the guy who had been making my life hell for years" (8).   Tyler's life is changing and his senior year is going to be an adventure of a lifetime. 

3.  Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place in a suburban community.  That is composed of middle class and upper class society that can be related to any town or city.  The plot of the story is self vs. self.  Tyler the main character is conflicted throughout the story trying to make the right decisions to be a good person.  He tells the story as it plays out with a boyish style that intrigues the reader. "I was working forty feet above the ground, breathing in sulfur fumes from Satan's vomitorium, for free" (1).  The typical influences of his family and the peer pressure from high school pressure him to what decisions he should make.  "Meet my mother:  pet photographer, cake baker, nice lady who smells of gin" (6).  The plot is believable, but takes many twists and turns that are totally unexpected.  The reader does not want to put down the book once they start reading.  The characterizations in the book is excellent.  The reader feels the emotions and turmoil the character faces with every turn of the page.  "Maybe my family had joined the witness protection program in exchange for testifying about what a loser I was" (27).  Tyler's thoughts and actions are common to most teenage boys.  "But there I was in front of one of my mother's cakes (my sainted, blessed mother) and a pretty girl and my stomach had shut down" (38).  The character is believable with both positive and negative qualities.  "A lot of kids would tell you that being taken away in a squad car was the coolest thing I had ever done" (45).   The reader will learn to care about all of his qualities has he works to redeem himself through the book to do the right thing. "It gave me choice.  I could become the new Lord of Darkness myself, or I could take a gamble and be reincarnated.  I chose wisely" (250).   The theme of the story growing up and learning who we are is universal to audiences of all ages.  Everyone has problems and reading this story will help young adults and adults realize that they can do the right thing.  The reader is left with a wonderful experience that they will never forget.

4.  Review Excerpts
BOOKLIST:  "The dialogue occasionally has the cliched feel of a teen movie ("Party's over." "We're just getting started. And I don't remember inviting you"). What works well here is the frank, on-target humor ("I was a zit on the butt of the student body"), the taut pacing, and the small moments, recounted in Tyler's first-person voice, that illuminate his emotional anguish. Writing for the first time from a male perspective, Anderson skillfully explores identity and power struggles that all young people will recognize."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:  "Teenage concerns with sex, alcohol, grades, and family are all tackled with honesty and candor. Once again, Anderson's taut, confident writing will cause this story to linger long after the book is set down."

5.  Connections
Excellent novel for a book club.  The author talks about many issues that teens are faced with while growing up and at the end of the book is a reading group guide.
Other books about growing up:
Anderson, Laurie Halse.  SPEAK.  ISBN9780142414736
Asher, Jay.  THIRTEEN REASONS WHY.  ISBN9781595141880
Green, John.  PAPER TOWNS. ISBN 9780142414934

Heartbeat By Garret Freymann-Weyr

1.  Bibliography
Freymann-Weyr, Garet.  (2002).  HEARTBEAT.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Company.  ISBN 9780618141814

2.  Plot Summary
Ellen is starting her freshman year.  She will be going to school with her older brother Link and his best friend James.  For years Ellen has had a crush on James that even he knows about.  Sometimes the friends fight, but she loves them both and is their for each of them.  One day in class a girl she is sitting by asks her if her brother and James are a couple.  "But Polly thinks its too obvious he doesn't have time for girls" (26).  Ellen never thinks about them this way.  She broaches the question to the boys.  Link will not tell her if he loves his best friend.  James decides that he cannot be friends with a boy who will not share who he is.  Ellen and Link's parents don't want to know the answer.  "I don't know if your brother is gay" Mom remarks" (36).  James and Ellen start hanging out without Link and start to grow close.  Will Ellen ever know the truth?

3.  Critical Analysis
 The setting of the story takes place in present day in a rich part of New York City.  The plot of the story is self vs. society.  The young adult men in the story have a relationship, but society does not know how far the relationship goes.  "They are like a couple, aren't they?" Adena asks" (32).  The main character is the sister to one of the young men.  She only wants them both to be happy, but to do this they would have to defy the expectations of their family and society.  "There is an excellent reason I have never thought of Link and James as a couple before; they have never permitted me to think of or to see them as anything other than friends" (33).  The characters are believable.  They can be related to by the reader.  Who doesn't have a sibling or friend that they love and want to be happy?  "Its clear to me that he and James love each other" (36).  The dialogue of the book is told from the character of the sister.  There is a lot of conversations in the book to help the reader understand the interactions between the characters.  Ellen helps the reader understand what is going on with her family and the two young men she cares about. 


This book contemplates the issues in relationships.  Who should be happy and what extent should that person go to, and be able to find what they are looking for.  Who will be hurt in the process and is it worth it?  These are the questions that the reader thinks of while reading this book.  It is a good book about finding love.

4.  Review Excerpts
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:  "But the sensitivity with which the author handles the issues of whom one loves and complexities more far-reaching than sexual concerns outweigh these minor matters. Ellen relates telling details about herself and those around her with humor and compassion, exposing the many dimensions of her parents as well as the three featured teens. A thoughtful approach to the many confusing signals that accompany awakening sexuality. Ages 12-up."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:  "In this tightly constructed novel about love, family, and the ambiguities of sexual identity, Ellen, 14, idolizes her brother, Link, and his best friend, James, who are seniors. When she enters their private Manhattan high school, she is surprised when some girls assume that Link and James are "a couple." Things begin to unravel when she puts the question to them: Link avoids James, starts dating Polly, and drops out of a special college math program to pursue his interest in music. The author provides some profound insights to help readers understand the motivations behind the characters' actions but ultimately young people must come to their own conclusions about the choices made and their consequences."
Michael L. Printz Award

5.  Connections
Other books about complicated relationships"
Levithan, David.  BOY MEETS BOY.  ISBN 9780375832994
Ryan, Patrick.  GEMINI BITES.  ISBN 0545221285
Sanchez, Alex.  BOYFRIENDS WITH GIRLFRIENDS.  ISBN 9781416937739

The Absolutely Ture Diary Of A Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

1.  Bibliography
Alexie, Sherman.  2007.  THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN.   Art By Ellen Forney.  New York:  Little Brown And Company.  ISBN 9780316013680

2.  Plot Summary
Junior is a teenager that was born with a bunch of health issues.  He is growing up on the Spokane Reservations with his parents and older sister.  He only has one friend named Rowdy who is angry and a bully.  It is time to start high school.  In geometry class the teacher tells the students to turn to page one.  Junior opens his book and sees on the inside cover that it says the book belonged to Agnes Adams.  "Who is Agnes Adams?  Well let me tell you. Agnes Adams is my mother.  I staring at a geometry book that was at least thirty years older than I was" (31).  In anger he hurtles the book across the room and hits his teacher in the nose.  Junior is suspended from school.  His teachers visits him at home and gives him some advice.  "You have to leave this reservation.  All these kids have given up.  You're going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk from this sad, sad, sad reservation" (43).  Junior decides to attend a school of the reservation to look for hope.

3.  Critical Analysis
The story is set on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington and a small farm town outside of the reservation.  The setting shapes the characters into Native Americans and Caucasians.  The story is told from the perspective of the main character who is a teenage Native America who has lived on the reservation his whole life.  The author tells this story with hope, humor, and love.  "And I started wearing glasses when I was three, so I ran around the rez looking like a three-year-old Indian grandpa" (3).  The plot is self vs. society.  Junior is trying to find a future for his life by going to a better school.  He wants to break the mold of who is supposed to be.  "I mean, they've always known that I was weird and ambitious, so maybe they expect me to do the weirdest things possible" (46).  The main character can be related to by teenagers no matter what ethnicity they are.  This is the story of a teen dealing with the struggles of growing up and how society influences them.    It helps set the theme of growing up can be painful.  The theme of the story is shown by the author through the characters actions.  "You will be the first one to ever leave the rez this way" (47). 

The main character is a cartoonist.  Throughout the story the  reader sees his illustrations of the characters in the story and different events that happen.  The drawing are in black and white.  Sometimes they are cartoons and other times they are more realistic.  The illustrations give the reader a view into the main characters life to convey how he sees the people in the story.  They also had a dash of humor to the book.

This is a wonderful story about growing up that teens and adults can relate to.  Life can be tough and this story gives us all hope.  "I always knew you were going to leave.  And I was happy for you" (229).

4.  Review Excerpts
Booklist:   "When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignation's and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation. Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plot lines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here."
 School Library Journal:  "The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teens determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries."
National Book Award Winner

5.  Connections
A good book for reading about teenagers growing up.
Other books about growing up:
Anderson, Laurie Halse.  SPEAK.  ISBN 9780142414736
Hesse, Karen.  OUT OF THE DUST.  ISBN 978059371254
Yang, Gene Luen.  AMERICAN BORN CHINESE.  ISBN 9780312384487
 

Seventeenth Summer By Maureen Daly

1.  Bibliography
Daly, Maureen.  1942.  SEVENTEENTH SUMMER.  New York:  Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.  ISBN 9780689853838

2.  Plot Summary
Angie Morrow is seventeen years old and will start college in the fall.  Every summer she spends with her sisters and parents, but this year is different.  Jack Morrow the bakers son has asked her on a date.  Her parents don't approve of her going on dates due to her age.  But Jack is charming, handsome, and was captain of the basketball team.  On their first date they going sailing under the stars and feelings began to develop.  "You see it was different!  It wasn't just because it was Jack and I either-it was something more than that" (1).

3.  Critical Analysis

This books is written with the main character telling the reader the story in a format similar to a diary.  "I don't know why I am telling you this" (1).  The chapters are divided up in the three months of summer; June, July ,and August. There are not entries for days. 

The plot of the story is self vs. self.  The main character is growing and becoming an adult.  She is having experiences that will change her life and who she is.  The characters in the story are a normal middle class family and the people that live in their small community.  The characters have believable personalities and normal lives.  The story has a copyright date of 1942.  When the story was written it was present day, but now this book could be considered historical fiction.  It was interesting to see the difference between teenagers from this time period and present day.  The notice able factors to now what time period the book took place in was the clothing, hairstyles, manners, activities,all the young adults were smoking, and the jobs.  "She met him having a Coke in the drugstore..."(114).  "That evening me and Margaret put on slacks..." (114).  

The protagonist in the story is a seventeen girl who is naive in the ways of the world and love.  All of the dialogue in the story is from the point of view of Angie.  She is telling the reader what is happening in the story and what the other characters have said.    She brings a sense of innocence and naivety to the story.  "It's all right'" I told her gently...it's all right to kiss a boy."  "Angie, you don't understand," she said wearily" (128).  Has the summer progress the main character starts to understand the mysterious ways of the heart and the world.  "People can't tell you about things like that, you have to find them for yourself .  That's why it is so important.  It was something I will always remember because I couldn't forget-it's a thing like that" (1).

This book is appealing for the reader to see a glimpse of teenagers of the past and what it was like for them to grow up.  I had a hard time relating to the story due to how naive the main character was.  "I meant to find out from my sisters what fellows usually say when they leave" (21).  I don't believe that teenagers are that naive anymore due to technology and the ways of the world.  "Your tomato juice is in the icebox" (27).  Most teenagers have a cell phone.  The phone conversations in the book were only to set up a time to go out.  Times have changed immensely.  I would recommend this to a teen who wanted to read about love and growing up in the 40's.  Overall it is a good story just somewhat hard to relate to present day relationships.

4.  Review Excerpts

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:  "College-bound Angie Morrow falls in love for the first time in the perennially popular Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly (1942), written while the author was still in college herself. Diary-like entries depict the trials and tribulations of adolescent amour. Ages 12-up."

YALSA:  "Seventeenth Summer certainly feels like a book of its time.  Yet in exploring the near-universal experience of first love, it manages to retain a sense of freshness.  It won’t appeal to every reader, but those dreamy, romantic teens who want a clean romance will find much to enjoy."

Considered a classic young adult novel.

5.  Connections

A great book for a book club or summer reading.

Other books about summer love:

Abbott, Hailey.  GIRLS IN LOVE:  A SUMMER GIRLS NOVEL.  ISBN 9780545102698

Echols, Jennifer.  ENDLESS SUMMER:  THE BOYS NEXT DOOR ENDLESS SUMMER.  ISBN 9781442406599

Han, Jenny.  THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY.  ISBN 9781416968290